If you’re anything like my friend Sean, you find the idea of Meatless Monday dinners a real chore. Last year when Kimberly and I wrote about Meatless Mondays and the benefits of meatless meals (health, budget, variation) Sean told me that he found the idea intriguing, but not really appealing, and certainly difficult to implement.
So in honor of my honest friend Sean, and his dedicated efforts to feed his family well, I give you 7 Meatless Monday Meals to get you through spring and into summer grilling and salad season.
Seven Spectacular Spring Meatless Monday Meals
- Comfort food: Homemade mac and cheese, roasted broccoli, fruit salad
- One dish dinner: Tofu fried rice
- Soup supper: Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches
- Mediterranean platter: hummus, dolmas, olives, raita, pita and Greek salad
- Tex-Mex: Black bean and cheese enchiladas and hearty green salad
- Breakfast for dinner: Scrambled eggs, roasted asparagus, hash browns, fresh fruit
- Light and healthy: Edamame tofu salad with soba noodles (pictured)
Edamame Tofu Salad from Feeding the Young Athlete by Cynthia Lair with Scott Murdoch
Prep time: 40 minutes (plus time to marinate) Makes 4 servings. Vegetarian, nut-free, GF option
For team meals, we like to serve a variety of foods on a big platter and allow players to make their own plates. This Asian-inspired salad is a beautiful platter of delicious and nutritious choices. Soba noodles are Japanese noodles made from gluten-free buckwheat flour. Get a head start by boiling two pots of water – a larger for the soba noodles and a smaller one for the edamame. Marinating tofu for a couple of hours deepens the flavors but is not necessary. Use gluten-free tamari (instead of soy sauce) to make this recipe gluten-free.
- 2 tablespoons tamari (naturally brewed soy sauce)
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 pound firm tofu, cubed
- 4 ounces soba noodles
- 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil or other high heat vegetable oil
- 1 cup shelled edamame, fresh or frozen
- 1 cup cabbage, shredded
- 1 carrot, grated
- Mix tamari, ginger, garlic and water in large bowl. Add tofu and marinate.
- Cook soba noodles in boiling water about 7 minutes. Drain noodles and mix in 2 tablespoons dressing (recipe below) and sesame seeds. Set aside.
- Pat tofu dry with paper towel.
- Add oil to skillet over high heat. Carefully add the tofu in and fry a few seconds on each side until browned. Drain on paper towel.
- Cook edamame in boiling water for 3 minutes. Strain and run cold water over it until cool. Set aside.
- Arrange noodles, tofu, edamame, cabbage and carrots in separate piles on a large serving platter. Put dressing in a small pitcher. Dig in!
Sesame chili dressing:
- 2 tablespoons tamari
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 5 teaspoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons mirin (or sake)
- 1 teaspoon ginger, grated
- 2 teaspoons Thai chili sauce
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
Mix ingredients, except oils, in small bowl. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil and sesame oil, whisking well to emulsify.
Happy Monday!
